...and I'm really nervous!

I'm pretty sure Bam (4 month old SBT) will be able to sense how nervous I am. I know he'll be fine - probably a bit quiet and nervous himself, as he's only met a few dogs on his walks and has been interested but shy with all of them (although he's a bouncy little terror with his mum, Chilli). I'll bet the pandemonium of a class full of puppies will be a tad overwhelming for him.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do/bring, and how to avoid transmitting my nervousness to him? I'm more in it for the socialisation at the moment, and I'm bringing a bag full of tasty smelly treats.

Hi Katie
we took Gus (also a Staffy) took puppy classes ( think his began at 13 weeks). He
absolutely LOVED going . There were only 6 in the class and he was the only SBT there . He used to get really excited as soon as we arrived and adored the trainer. Only thing was he used to be a bit Vocal through excitement and didnt like sitting still while the trainer chatted :)

Hi lel! Thanks so much for the reply - you're calming me down! ;)

I'll be *really* interested to see how my little chap reacts to this - he's actually quite shy for a Staffy, but once he's comfortable with a situation/person then it's all-out Staffy happiness! He just hasn't had time to interract with many other dogs at length on walks - just a quick tail-wag and meet'n'greet and then onwards. Unfortunately we don't know too many people with other dogs, so the only extended canine playtime he gets is with his mum.

I'd have *loved* to have started him earlier, but there are almost NO classes in Dublin apart from this one. We missed the start of the last course because his vaccs weren't complete, so had to wait until now as you can't just join in at any time.

Eee. Still a bit nervous!

Yes take smelly treats and a favourite toy maybe. Sometimes a blanket from home to settle on by your feet is a good idea.  All puppy classes are different so it is difficult to tell you what to expect.  I assume you have seen the class beforehand and are happy with it.  A good class won't be pandemonium, nor will there be large numbers of pups.  The atmosphere should be calm and relaxed and you will enjoy it and forget your nerves I'm sure. :)

Yep - we watched a class a few weeks ago, and it seemed great. Calm and collected, and no off-leash interaction, but that's fine with me as then you can control the dogs properly and it doesn't turn into a free-for-all. I made the 'pandemonium' comment, because a lady with a pomeranian puppy was telling me how awfully behaved all the pups were on their first night. ;)

Thanks for the toy idea - I didn't think of that at all! Bam loves his Mr. Floggs (a rope-toy, don't ask ;)) so I'll bring that.